SFPA Poetry Contest

Other SF Poetry Contests & Awards 2023 winning poems! here

Our contest is intended to raise funds for SFPA, as well as to draw more attention to speculative poetry and reward writers of good speculative poems. An eligibility survey was taken following the 2015 contest.

Contest Update:

Results of the 2023 contest have now been posted. Congratulations to the winners!

The 2024 SFPA Speculative Poetry Contest will open for entries on June 1. The deadline is August 31.

Contest Rules: The SFPA speculative poetry contest is open to all poets, including non-SFPA-members. Prizes will be awarded for best unpublished poem in 3 categories: Dwarf (poems 1–10 lines [prose poems 0–100 words]); Short (11–49 lines [prose poems 101–499 words]); Long (50 lines and more [prose 500 words and up]). Line count does not include title or stanza breaks. All sub-genres of speculative poetry allowed in any form. Entries are read blind; friends/family/students of the judge may not enter.

Prizes: In each category (Dwarf, Short, Long): $150 First Prize, $75 Second Prize, $25 Third Prize. Publication on the SFPA website for first through third places.

2024 Judge: TBA

2024 Contest Chair: Angela Yuriko Smith
Angela Yuriko Smith is a third-generation Ryukyuan-American, award-winning poet, author, and publisher with 20+ years in newspapers. Publisher of Space & Time magazine (est. 1966), two-time Bram Stoker Awards® Winner, and an HWA Mentor of the Year, she shares Authortunities, a free weekly calendar of author opportunities at authortunities.substack.com.

Submission guidelines:

• The 2024 contest opens June 1
• Deadline is August 31
• Unpublished poems only. Author retains rights, except that first through third place winners will be published on our website.
• Enter as many poems as you like, but an entry fee of $3 per poem must be paid via PayPal at entry (credit card can be used without a PayPal account, and those unable to use PayPal may mail a check). Simultaneous submissions are permitted, but must be immediately withdrawn if accepted elsewhere.
• More detailed submission information, with instructions on how to send in your entries, will be available closer to the contest's open date.

Confirmation of receipt of your submission should follow within 3 days.
Announcement of winners will be posted on the SFPA website.